Stefano Pioli lamented Theo Hernandez’ booking during their victory over Hellas Verona: ” It wasn’t a protest or a lack of respect.” The Rossoneri routed Verona in a straightforward 3-1 win, but Hernandez was booked for his goal celebration. Speaking with DAZN after the game, Pioli shared his thoughts on the match and explained why the booking was harsh:
What are your thoughts on the match and the performance of your side?
“I want to wish Joe Barone good luck, hoping that things can go as well as possible. We played the match well in my opinion, on their goal we could have been more careful about the rebound.
“It is clear that incidents change the mental attitude of the match. We were a team, we created a lot, we ran a lot. Considering that we were coming from Thursday’s match, I think it’s a very positive match.”
Theo’s booking means he will miss the Fiorentina game. It seems that the yellow card came after protests from the Verona bench…
“It was like this and it’s not good, Theo always celebrates like this, he always says ‘talk, talk’. It wasn’t a protest or a lack of respect towards the opposing fans. The intervention of the Verona coach caused an argument and a misunderstanding to arise.
“But Theo didn’t do anything and now we will have a suspended player. I think you have to talk a lot and well with your players and you have to leave the other players alone.”
Talk us through the changes you made in the second half…
“I saw Loftus and Pulisic a little tired, it’s normal, we played not even 72 hours ago. We needed brilliance and freshness, which Musah, Chukwueze and Giroud gave us. We deservedly won.”
You respected Verona a lot by choosing a strong side…
“Exactly, we studied our opponents well, who had a week to prepare for it. They had these characteristics, a lot of running, a lot of runs into the box, a lot of speed and we tried to make our players who have these characteristics play.”
Chukwueze, what’s the story?
“It’s the story of a foreign player who comes to play in a difficult and complicated league, where the demands are certainly different than those he had at Villarreal. He is putting a lot of will and effort into trying to do the best possible.
“I believe that too many times judgments are rushed and there is no time to wait. They are guys who come from a different mentality, another way of living and training, another way of playing.
“I’m very happy with the goal and that he’s doing well when he’s called upon. We have the patience necessary to wait for all our players.”
Are Theo and Leao back?
“Yes, absolutely yes. They have superior technical and physical means, mentally they are very continuous. They are a very strong pair.
“The opponents have to worry, wait a little longer, take precautions. Clearly they allow us other plays and other spaces. They are fantastic players and we are enjoying them.”
Leao did everything but score today…
“He will learn this too. He is learning a lot, he is growing every day in every way. Here he wanted to score, but if he passed it to Okafor he had the goal wide open. I understand that an attacker in front of the goalkeeper wants to score, even more precision is expected of him in these situations.
“Here it was quite easy to pass it to Okafor but even today he was a clearly dangerous player. He attacked, he defended, he was important for the team and that’s what matters most.”
